Today's harvest, besides the beans, included onions, chives, broccoli and the last of the sugar snap peas. I'm ripping out the pea vines, as they aren't bearing much in this heat. I can use the space for something else now.
For tonight's dinner, carrots from Monday, sweet onions, broccoli, sugar snap peas and green beans. I don't think we can eat all that, I'll have to save some for another day. No, the lemon meringue pie isn't from the garden! It's a favorite of Mr. H's, and he's been very good to help me this week so he gets a special treat.
I ended up making Mr. H's favorite chicken fried steak with brown gravy, steamed baby red potatoes with sour cream, butter and chives (garden), green beans (garden), broccoli (garden), carrots (garden), and pickled beets (beets & onions, garden). The pie comes later.
The garden bench is finished. It looks a LOT better!I love my dogs. The only thing I don't love about them is that they squat on my grass and leave dead spots. Oh well, I guess I can live with that :-)
I still have some painting to do on the garden shed, but basically the outside is finished. The garden bench will sit under the window on the side of the building, after I get an area landscaped for it. See that brown streak at the right lower corner of the picture? That's Otter dog. I left this photo large, so you can click on it and see the brown streak on the fence, the subject of the chase. The squirrel is about half way between the bird house and the tipsy pots.
The End************
Granny - I second the green beans hide pretty well in the foliage. Mine will be picked in a couple of days, as well. Nice harvest! My dog chases squirrels, but doesn't know to look up the trees (good grief)...The shed is coming along nicely! I can't wait to see how you fix up the inside.
ReplyDeleteYour harvest looks so good. I can't wait to have a nice harvest mix. The shed & bench have turned out great. I really can't get over how well the melons have done. They look awesome.
ReplyDeleteEG, my dogs live for the squirrels that run across the top of our fence so they can chase and bark. They especially enjoy it when they chase one up the power pole behind the shed. They bark, the squirrel chatters and cusses them out. It must drive the neighbors crazy.
ReplyDeleteI'm just about ready to start the inside of the shed, the lights are in, the plugins are in, I have a fan in the window for air circulation....we're ready to put in insulation, just as soon as we finish the outside painting.
Thank you, Daniel...I have to wonder if you are Dan from Canada, who gave me the melon seeds, or are you a new-to-my-blog Daniel? If you are new, welcome! If you're Dan, you threw me for a loop with the name change :-D
ReplyDeleteOh, man... I don't know which looks better. The veggies or the pie!
ReplyDeleteMomma_S, let's just say I had one helping of the vegetables, and now I'm heading into the kitchen for a second piece of the pie ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe hope in that squirrel chase is just inspiring! I love it when the squirrels sit and swear at the dogs.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks great! I find picking from two different directions -- go one way and then return the other -- helps me find things like beans and peas.
Yes this is Dan that sent the melon seeds. I'm not sure what happy with my name or tomato icon??
ReplyDeleteWell that is a great looking harvest, and an even better looking meal! The pup chasing the squirrel was fun to look at too! Our dog is getting quite old and doesn't even bat an eye when the squirrels are right in front of her... probably because she can hardly see or hear them anymore!
ReplyDeleteMmmmmmm.... pie!
Ah, the perfect ending to a great post! I wanted to be the first to ask where you get Lemon Meringue seeds? That's one of my favorite things! However, that entire meal looked great!
ReplyDeleteStefaneener, I went north, then south, then east, then west...and I think I still missed half the beans! It did help to tuck the last row under the raspberry wire! I'm not so sure the raspberries will like it though.
ReplyDeleteAnnie and Otto don't get a lot of exercise living with two old coots. Luckily the squirrels keep them quite active. I'm surprised the pet door has survives the hunt!
LOL, Dan/Daniel. I thought it must be you! Both melons are blossoming now, but all the blossoms are in clusters along the vines. Like they are trying to develop 3 or four melons in each cluster! And very small blossoms. It's been so long since I grew cantaloupe, I can't remember just what they grew like.
ReplyDeleteKitsapFG, I love to watch Annie and Otto chase the squirrels. Of course no squirrels are harmed in their adventures! The street in front of our house is much more dangerous to them than our dogs. The "kids" are just about 1-1/2 years old, so hopefully have many squirrel chasing years left.
ReplyDeleteYes, the pie was mmmmm! Lemon meringue is our favorite.
Sinfonian, wouldn't it be great if we could just walk out to the garden and pick lemon meringue? I remember now, you and I are the lemon-anything lovers!
ReplyDeleteDinner looked great! What time do I show up????
ReplyDelete:)
I love the shed.....turned out great.
Hmmmm pie. It's Key Lime for me, however. YUM!
ReplyDeleteYour production is just amazing and the shed is beautiful!!
I sometimes think that the dog is the only reason the squirrels aren't coming into the garden to eat. You see them look every which way when they venture into the yard just in case they have to bolt quickly.
Nice meal. I could never eat all that though. I have such a small appetite. I could eat all those veggies though. Yum.
ReplyDeleteI just can't get over how much food everyone is getting from these small spaces. I wish my plants would hurry up already!
ReplyDeleteAnnie, please share your Growing God and send him my way. My carrots are the size of pencils, my broccoli hasn't headed, by bush beans are just now starting to grow little bitty beans, and the onions have no bottoms (which is actually okay because I like the green part). I think I'm finally getting (a little) tired of lettuce, which is the only thing doing great. Any recipes for cooked lettuce?
ReplyDeleteSue, I usually serve dinner around six. Casual dress (work jeans and T-shirts). Come early, you have to pick your own veggies.
ReplyDeleteRibbit, a local grocer had Key limes for $2.00 a bag this week, and I was tempted. But Mr. H said he'd prefer lemon. I can't believe the price of lemons here, around 75 cents each. I found them at the dollar store 3/$1, so that's my go-to for lemons now.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I wish I had a small appetite. I couldn't however, eat what was on that plate. I ate most of the veggies, but saved half of the meat for another meal. I didn't have any problem eating 1-1/2 slices of pie though ;-)
ReplyDeleteJen, they will. Just be patient. I'm getting too much right now. I really would like to grow just enough to eat each day without preserving any, but that's become impossible. If we were staying here the entire year, I would gladly fill the freezer, but now I only want to freeze enough to get us into October. I can't transport my entire freezer to AZ!
ReplyDeleteCheryl, I'm short on lettuce...two "accidents" with my seedlings have left me with empty garden spots. I've heard of lettuce soup, but it doesn't sound very appealing to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful harvest! When do I get to come over for dinner? ;D
ReplyDeleteI really love how your shed turned out and that bench will be in the perfect spot to view your garden. Are you going to put up a side table too so you can have your morning coffee there?
what a yummy looking dinner, granny! everything looks GREAT, the shed, the bench, your dog - love it! i can't wait to grow broccoli next year...
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THE BENCH!! I have a bench that looks like it is falling apart. You have inspired me to "save" it! Your shed is lovely too. Is that your gardening shed?
ReplyDeleteI wish I could be sick of salad things. I didnt get carrots, lettuce, or radishes this year. I didnt feel them right and discovered this right when I gave up. Now I am starting again hoping I can do it inside or shade them or something. I did get ONE radish *sigh*. I did get beans though! How do you fix them?
My dog really isn't into squirrels or birds. She doesn't like neighbors or anyone on the street. LOL
How DO you get an icon anyway?
Cynthia, dinner is at 6, tonight is chicken night ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe bench will be my afternoon shady spot, as it will face east. Morning coffee on the patio, a nice tall iced tea on the garden bench to unwind in the evening. Everything is going so slowly (too hot to work outside during mid-day) I wonder if I'll get any use of the bench this year!
Kelli, I thought Otto was pretty funny to go chasing across the yard just as I took that shed photo! I need to post a picture of Annie, who likes to help me paint. She is now a black and white spotted dog!
ReplyDeleteThe broccoli is really good, but it's crowding my other stuff, so I won't be trying for side shoots...it must come out as soon as I cut the main head.
JenGC, yes, that is MY shed. Mr. H can park his lawnmower in there, but that's all. He has a big garage, I need a shed for my potting mixes, pots, mini-greenhouse, gardening tools.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I inspired you! I've had that old bench for about 20 years, and this is the second time I've refinished it. It gets pretty weathered sitting outside unprotected.
When you put your picture (or an icon) in your Blogger profile it shows as the avatar/icon. I think there is a place you have to check to make it public so it shows on the comments.
I want to come to your house for dinner! YUM!
ReplyDeleteIt all looks just so yummy - the harvest was pretty too. I especially liked the multicolored carrots! Oh and the shed came out really nice... but mostly I want to steal your pie. Heh. ;^)
Wow, what a spread! Yor harvest was beautiful, so many colors. And do I really even have to say anything about that pie? Sigh.
ReplyDeleteJenn, the multi-colored carrots ("Rainbow") are a disappointment. I won't be growing them again.
ReplyDeleteJenn & Kelly, pie is all gone. Sorry. It was good :-D
What was disappointing about the carrots?
ReplyDeleteJenn, the white carrots have cores that are hard as rocks. That is, if they develop at all. They are stunted and forked and go to seed before they mature. The red carrots are only red until they are scraped, then they are orange like all the others. They are "hairy" with little roots all over, so scraping or peeling is a must. The yellow are very good. I might look for a yellow variety next year. The plain orange are no better than any of the other orange carrots I grew...Imperator still has them all beat.
ReplyDeleteI think you have too much nitrogen in your soil... that's what makes carrots hairy. Hope you have better luck with them next year!
ReplyDeleteJenn, only the red ones are hairy, the others are fine.
ReplyDeleteOtto rocks...and so does your harvest! I must confess...all this week, everytime I see a bean or two I pick it. I don't like beans, but I love the idea of harvesting something that my family will enjoy. I do it even though some of them are still young. I planted my Blue Lake bush beans right behind them, but they're not doing as well as the Black pole beans.
ReplyDeleteThat dinner and pie look amazing! Makes we want to cook dinner tomorrow. Great post!
Otto is a real character, Kalena Michele! He does his job well, he keeps us laughing :-D
ReplyDeleteI love green beans, but I can get pretty tired of them after a few pickings. I do like to mix them with other vegetables...they are so good tossed with a hot tomato/onion/balsamic vinegar/sugar relish, or just mixed with sweet whole kernel corn or steamed crookneck squash. I also like them cooked with carrots.
Hey granny....I have a question about your shed. I must have missed something - but what kind of material is your exterior made from? I'm still undecided what mine will be made from...
ReplyDeleteHardiePanel® Vertical Siding and HardiePlank® Lap Siding
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/siding.shtml
We just used OSB (primed it & painted it) on the back, where it doesn't show, but we did use the lap siding under the eaves, like on the front. The Hardie board vertical, 4'x8' panels are a concrete product and too heavy for one person to install. They cost about $24 a panel, and the lap siding costs about $6 for an 8 1/2"x 12 foot. It took 6 of those (total) for the front & back.
That dinner looks great! I must make a LMP! Haven't had one for years, you just inspired me. Your harvest is amazing, I agree about the beans being hard to see! They just hide beneath the leaves don't they?
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Matron! How nice to see you here. My son was visiting yesterday, so I made him help me pick the beans. All three varieties have now decided to bear at the same time! That one variety that I was complaining about was the killer to pick, the other two not so bad. I got nearly three pounds, which is more than I really need (I'm not canning/freezing them this year), so I'm tempted to rip those big ones out....but I won't. Even though it was only 50-cents worth of seeds from the dollar store :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Granny! It's Toni here in Wyoming!
ReplyDeleteYour dinner looks so good!!! Congratulations on your very first harvest of beans!
Wish I could have a piece of the pie... yummy!
Granny, you've mentioned that you use soil blocking. Do you have a post about it?
You're such an inspiration Granny! Thank you!
PS.. .the shed and the bench look awesome!
Toni, I have a few posts that mention seed blocks and show photos. If you put "soil blocks" or "block maker" in the search box at the top of my blog, it will bring them up. The very first ones I made I used an ice cube tray! Here is a good video about them, and John Best (John's Journal) has directions on how to make one at home.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31urzDs09zU
Thank you for the compliments...you're giving me a swelled head ;-)
Oh Granny, I absolutely love the doors you put on your garden shed. Those are the kinds of doors I want to put on our garage. Lovely!!
ReplyDeleteI also love how you fixed up the bench! Nice!!
ReplyDelete